An auxiliary compartment is usually associated with a generator in a power plant. For example, gas turbines are widely used in commercial operations for power generation, acting as the generator in the power plant. The auxiliary compartment generally houses auxiliary equipment that provides a mechanism to supply energy to the generator (e.g., a gas turbine) to re-start the generator in the event the generator has been shut down. For example, the auxiliary compartment can house a starting motor and a torque converter as part of a starting system for providing the initial momentum for the gas turbine to reach the operating speed. Specifically, the starting motor with a torque converter is configured to bring the heavy mass of the turbine to a required speed before the turbine can work on its own inertia. For large gas turbines, this process requires a large capacity starting motor and torque converter. For example, the starting motor and torque converter can each weight about 2,000 kilograms or more.
During maintenance of the power plant and/or the gas turbine, it is often desired or necessary to remove the starting motor and/or torque converter from the auxiliary compartment. However, due to extremely limited headspace in the auxiliary compartment (designed to keep as small a profile as possible) and no support structure for lifting heavy equipment, removal of the starting motor and/or torque converter has presented engineering challenges in the past. In certain embodiments, the entire space from the floor to the roof inside the auxiliary compartment can be about 6 feet or less. One method typically used to remove the starting motor and/or torque converter is to construct a slide or skid of I-beams and a plate during each outage for removal, requiring the slide to be fabricated and welded to the existing motor mounting structure in the auxiliary compartment. Then, after the maintenance is complete, the complete structure is cut out and discarded. Alternatively, the roof of the auxiliary compartment can be customized to include an access port large enough for removal (e.g., with an external crane) of the starting motor and/or torque converter. However, such a roof would have to be outfitted with a removable section that can be reinstalled after the maintenance has been completed. Not only would this type of roof would be expensive and add the potential for leakage.
As such, a need exists for an apparatus and method configured to facilitate removal of the starting motor and/or torque converter from the auxiliary compartment associated with a gas turbine.